The Chosen Two
by BuffyAngellover
Summary: What if Angel had gotten his soul back but Buffy had died during Becoming?
1. Prologue

**Summary: **Starts off during "Becoming", goes AU from there.  
When the final showdown between Buffy and Angelus takes place, Willow is still in her coma. Like the hero she is, Buffy manages to kick Angelus' ass and save the day before her untimely demise. But with both Buffy and Kendra dead and the Hellmouth without a guardian, will it finally be the Apocalypse?

**Authors Note:** This story is written by me and a good friend of mine who goes by faithslayer89. All the even chapters are written by her, and the odd ones written by me. This is the first time the two of has have collaborated on a story together so tell us how we do. Please send feedback. Enjoy!

**Prologue: Slayerless**  
  
_I don't like dis,_ Kendra thought, her insides squirming. She was getting majorly bad feelings, and her Slayer instincts told her something was going to happen. Something bad.

"I should 'ave gone wit Buffy, Mr. Giles," she said aloud, as Willow began to prepare for the ritual that would re-ensoul Angel. "Sometin' about dis jus' doesn't feel right. I feel like dis is a trap."

"Buffy can handle herself," Giles assured her. "We have to concentrate on the matter at hand."

"'Sides," Xander spoke up, "if any of Angel's vampire buddies show up, you'll kick their asses." Kendra nodded curtly and resumed her routine of patrolling the exits out of the library. She was still unsure of how to act around boys, and Xander's quirky nature made her doubly confused.

After what seemed like an eternity of tension, Willow announced that she was ready and took her place upon the table. Xander, Giles, Oz, and Cordelia helped her with the ritual, while Kendra kept an eye out for any unwanted visitors.

"_Nici al morte, nici al finite,_" Giles read aloud.

"Not of the dead, nor not of the living," Willow intoned. "Spirits of the Interregnum, I call." Though the curse would probably save them and the world, Kendra tuned out the words and focused solely on sensing her enemy. A terrible feeling was building inside of her. It would happen, soon. So very soon...

_Now! _Her mind yelled. The feeling intensified to its climax and she sprung into battle-mode, as the screams and shouts of the Scoobies erupted around her. She could hear crashing sounds, but her only thought was to kill the vampires. She took out the first couple fairly quickly enough, and managed to pry one off of Giles. She could see Xander and Willow among the stacks, and had no idea what had happened to Oz and Cordelia. She threw the vampire through the window of Giles office and disposed of him, too.

She hurried back into the library, as several more vampires came in through the school hallways, with Drusilla bringing up the rear. They encircled her, but it quickly became clear that the fight would only be one-on-one. Though she knew of Drusilla's mental unstability, she knew not to underestimate the vampire's fighting skills. After all, her sire _was _Angelus himself.

And then the battle commenced, with more hair-pulling than Kendra would have preferred. And just as she thought, Drusilla was putting up a good fight, matching her blow for blow. Her heart hammered in her chest and she relished the adrenaline rush that a truly satisfying fight gave her. But the rush quickly turned to fear and desperation as the vampire gripped her throat.

_No! _Her mind screamed. _No, fight dis! Yuh can't give up like dis! Yuh have people yuh must fight for!_

Her mind tried hard to fight against Dru's hypnotic powers, but soon, it was as though a foggy blanket had covered her, dimming and distorting every sight and sound. Kendra felt lightheaded and calm, as her body began to relax. She was brought back to reality with a horrible stinging pain on her neck. She clamped a hand in vain to stop the flow of blood from her severed jugular.

_NO!_

Then, darkness.

"No friends, no family, no hope," Angelus taunted, his voice sounding irresistibly soft, the same way Angel used to speak to her, to comfort her... Her eyes closed in defeat and loss. "Take all that away, and what's left?" He thrusted the blade at her. Her hands came up with Slayer-speed and caught the blade an inch from her nose.

"Me." She pushed it back towards him and heard the satisfying crunch of his nose breaking. She dove for the second sword and resumed the battle, more hyped up than before.

_He's going down,_ Buffy swore to herself, jumping to avoid getting her legs cleaved off. _He's not Angel, just some evil, twisted mockery of him. _Her eyes drifted onto his, and for the smallest fraction of a second, she thought she saw a glimmer of the man she loved.

_Ms Calendar, Kendra, Willow, Giles, _she reminded herself. _He's responsible for everything that happened to them. Kill him!_ But that small fraction of a second was all Angelus needed. He stabbed at Buffy, but managed to only catch her in the arm as she dodged his blow. He, however, wasn't so lucky.

Buffy ran him through with the sword she held, feeling nothing but despair. She should be elated, she knew. She'd stopped him from removing the sword from Acathla and Xander had gotten Giles to safety. But all she could feel was grief as she pulled Mr. Pointy out from her boot. Angelus was struggling to remove the sword embedded in his chest, biting his lip in pain. He was hunched on all fours, blood coating his shirt and hands. The sight of him like this was almost too much for her.

_He's not Angel, we've established this. No matter how much he looks like Angel or talks like Angel, he's not Angel. Stake his ass and be done with it._ Standing over him, Buffy brought the stake down. So she was surprised when Angelus countered her attack. He swept her legs out from under her and brought her down to his level. She tried to stake him, but he easily snapped her wrist. She winced in pain and knew at that moment that she wouldn't live to see her friends again.

Angelus looked into Buffy's eyes and saw the loss, the grief, the sadness -and most importantly, the fear. The fear of knowing that she would die, and that she couldn't do anything about it. He grinned evilly and picked up Mr. Pointy, still grasping her good hand tightly.

"The Slayer impaled upon her own stake," he said softly. "Don't you just love the irony?" She could feel the sharp wooden tip pressing into her chest. "Hey," he whispered into her ear, "think you'll go poof, too?" Angelus plunged the stake into Buffy's heart, and her eyes widened in pain and shock. "Guess not," he said, and tossed her aside.

Buffy's breaths became shallow and uneven and she clutched her heart desperately as blood flowed freely. Consumed in her own pain, she spared no thought for Angelus, who was doubled over on the floor in pain.

"No!" He shrieked. "No! I won't go back! I won't! This is _my_ afterlife now! NO!" Buffy cried out softly as death overcame her. She felt eyes on fall upon her in the growing darkness and a pair of strong arms hold her.

"Buffy? Buffy? Wha- What happened? I don't-" Angel inhaled sharply, an involuntary action that popped up from time to time. The memories of the past months filled his mind like a video on fast forward. The tape abruptly stopped when it came to Buffy. He could see himself killing her slowly, and could feel himself enjoying it. "Oh, God, no," he murmured, as though saying it would make it a reality. "Oh, God, no. Buffy..."

"Mmmm?" Her heartbeat was so faint and her breathing was so shallow it was practically non-existent. Still, with enormous effort, she managed one last glimpse of Angel's horror-stricken face and smiled peacefully. "Angel," she murmured, the name lingering on her lips. She felt a sense of calm overtake her. Angel always had that comforting effect on her.

She was glad that he was Angel again. She couldn't understand why he was crying. He was back by some reason she'd rather not wrap her mind around right now and they were together. Who cared if she was expelled or her mother kicked her out? Angel was back and that was all that mattered.

_Why the hell are you crying? _She asked, laughing it off like it didn't creep her out. That's when she realized she could barely move her mouth. Angel placed a cool finger to her lips and shushed her.

_Oh boy, that's never good. ...Loss of motor functions, mind...drifting. ...Okay, yup, it's the dying thing again. Didn't we go through this before? Ugh, where's Xander when you need him? ...No, but I didn't...drown. I...was...stabbed. Angel -no, Angelus- stabbed...me. So...I'm dying. And again with the dying thing. Whoa, deja vu. ...Never...good. ...I...I...love you...Angel...my love..._

"Buffy!" Angel screamed, holding the body of his dead love. _You killed her,_ he thought wildly. _The woman you loved, you killed her!_ I _killed her! Oh, God, what have I done?!_ "BUFFY!"


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Special Greetings

Paige stepped off the bus and into the darkened streets of Sunnydale. No more then two days ago did she get the word that she was to be the new slayer. Ever since then she had felt like she was walking around in some sort of dream like state. Everything had happened so fast. One moment she was sitting on her bed reading the Slayer's manual and the next, she was being sent off to the Hell mouth to replace one of the two dead slayers. It wasn't something that she ever expected to happen.

Heaving her duffle bag onto her shoulders she began to walk. She had been given specific orders to go to Sunnydale High Library as soon as possible. There she would meet her new watcher and the other slayer that had arrived here before her. The only problem was, she had no idea how to even get to the High School.

"Excuse me?" A young girl with flaming red hair bounced up to her. "Are you Paige Iverns?"

"Yes." Paige answered the girl.

"Oh good. I'm not late. I was told to come and pick you up at eight o'clock sharp, and well I got delayed and... anyways, I'm here now." The girl smiled. "OH! My name's Melony. Sorry, I have this habit of spacing out sometimes."

"That's okay." Paige looked the girl up and down, something about her wasn't right. "I thought no one was going to be able to pick me up?"

"No one was at first. We're all super busy. But I never really seem to be of that much help to them anyways so I thought I might as well put myself to good use. So here I am. Did you want me to take your bag?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"Alrighty then. We better be off. Everyone's just dying to meet you." Melony said rather bubbly. Her red hair bobbed up and down as she walked down the pavement.

They passed house after house as Melony continued to ramble on and on about useless information. Paige was about ready to use her new found slaying powers on the girl if she didn't shut up soon. She just hoped that her sister slayer wasn't anything like the incisive rambling girl walking next to her.

"So the other slayer, Faith, how's she working out?" Paige asked, wanting to hear anything but the sound of Melony's voice at the moment, but knowing that if she was going to be a slayer, she'd have to play nice with the other people.

"She's not." Melony said rather darkly. Something passed over her features at the very thought of the girl.

"What do you mean?"

"Honestly? I don't even know how the girl became a slayer. She has no skill what so ever and her style's all wrong. She's goes off at the sound of a bell, doing whatever pleases her."

"What's so bad about that? A slayer's got to trust her instincts."

"This girl has no instincts. It's just punch, jab, and plunge with this one. No thought for anything else but the thrill of the kill." Melony had her hands stuck bitterly in her pockets. "I'd watch out for her if I were you. In this town, you never know who to trust."

"That's what makes it so fun." A voice came from the shadows. "It's all just a game of guess and check." Stepping into the streetlight, a girl with dark curly hair showed herself, a cocky grin plastered on her face, and a stake in her hand. "You must be Paige."

"And I'm guessing you're Faith." Paige looked over the girl before her. She definitely had the body type of a slayer, small but built with muscle. "I don't know Melony. She looks like a good slayer to me."

Melony let out a short bark of laughter. "Looks can be deceiving."

Paige nodded her head once, never taking her eyes off Faith. Without warning she pulled a sharp wooden stake from out of her pocket and slammed it home into Melony's heart, not moving until the dust settled around her.

"Nice." Faith commented. "So, when'd you know?"

Paige smiled slightly. "Pretty much the moment I got off the bus. Plus, she was heading me away from the school. I saw a sign about ten minutes back saying Sunnydale High next left. Seeing as this is a hell mouth, I figured I'd be stepping into trouble the moment I got off that bus."

Faith started walking down the pavement, back to the direction Paige and Melony had just recently come from. "You're smart. That's good. Means I don't have to worry about you."

Pounding footsteps came rushing up from behind them. "Did you find her?" A young redhead asked. This girl's hair was nothing like Melony's. It didn't hold the same fire; instead it was soft and sweet, giving off the air of innocence.

"Yeah I found her." Faith said off handedly, continuing to walk. "Paige this is Willow, and the boy who's about to pass out to her right is Xander."

Paige looked over towards the boy with his hands on his knees, breathing deeply, then to the girl, giving them a small smile. "Hey."

"Hi." The red head said with a small little wave of her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Xander would you get up all ready. I really don't feel like hanging around all night."

"I'm sorry, but some of us aren't as lucky as others and are born with super human strength." He grumbled. Clutching his side he began to walk along side Faith. "So, you two run into any trouble while I was gone?"

Faith rolled her eyes but answered him anyways. "Paige here got picked up by a vamp pretty much the second she stepped off the bus. She took care of it though."

Willow gave the girl a shocked look. "Already? You've only been here for a couple minutes."

Paige smiled, liking the group that surrounded her already. "What can I say? I'm a natural."

"Yeah, well you better keep up that naturality because around here, it's vamps, vamps and more vamps." Xander singsonged.

"Xander, naturality isn't even a word." Willow scolded him slightly.

"It is in my vocabulary."

"That may be why you're flunking English."

Faith looked back at Paige. "Don't mind them. It's a daily ritual with these two."

The little group of four walked without interruption to the High School, where they immediately tromped inside without preamble. Willow and Xander seemed to be very comfortable around each other, giving Paige the idea that they had been friends for a long time. Then on the other hand, there was Faith. She was cocky and definitely not afraid to say what she was thinking, making Paige know that she was a good slayer.

"Hey G- Man! We got a live one!" Xander called, flinging open the doors to a small library.

A man wearing a brown tweed suit and glasses came out from behind one of the stacks, giving Paige a surprised look. Almost as if he didn't expect to have another slayer here so soon. Or maybe he just thought it wasn't right to have two new girls come in out of nowhere and replace the one slayer that he had grown to adore of the brief few years.

"Hi." Paige said nervously when he didn't say anything.

"Don't worry about him. He did the exact same thing when I first arrived." Faith hopped up on the checkout counter and started eating twizlers from a bag by the computer.

"Sorry," The man said as he approached Paige. "You just took me by a little bit of surprise. I'm Giles. Rupert Giles."

"Paige Iverns." She said shaking his hand. He gave her an uneasy look, as if he didn't want her to really be there.

"So Giles. Got any work for us to do yet?" Faith asked sarcastically from her perch on the counter.

Taking off his glasses and rubbing them wearily Giles sighed. "I'm afraid so." Motioning for Paige to take a seat he began to explain the situation at hand. "For the past few weeks vampire activity has risen at an alarming rate. There isn't a night that goes by without at least two deaths of a citizen by the hands of one of these demons."

"And in a town as small as Sunnydale, that's saying something." Xander piped in. He too had started to eat the Twizlers that were lying around.

"I've been researching the matter for quite some time now and I'm afraid I can't find any valid reason as to why they're doing this. It just suddenly happened. Faith has been out there almost every night but we don't seem to make any headway into our growing problem. But maybe with your strength added to the mix we'll be able to make some sort of dent in the vampire populace."

"Two heads are better then one." Faith hopped off the counter and started heading out the door. "Come on Paige; let's go see what you're made of."

Paige dropped her duffle to the ground. "Sounds good to me." With a small wave to the rest of the people in the library she ran out the door to catch up to Faith, hardly able to contain her excitement at the fact that she would be able to test out her new skills soon.

"So what do you think is really going on here? You know, why have the vamps suddenly decided that now's a good time to feast on the living."

Faith shrugged as she walked outside into the rapidly cooling night. "I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the other slayers death."

Paige nodded her head slowly. "How'd they die?"

"Vampire, just like any other slayer. One was cut in the throat by some chic and the other... her tale had a bit of a twist. Apparently she was actually screwing one of them. He turned on her, tried to suck the world into hell, and when he didn't succeed, he killed her."

"There's got to be more to it then that."

"I don't know the full story, and I don't really care. The important thing is, is that I'm here now and I have a job to do. I'm sticking to that plan."

Paige nodded, knowing the other girl was right. But still, she couldn't let the death of the other slayer go quite just yet. "What happened to the vampire? The one that killed her?"

"He's still alive supposedly. I hear he's not much of a threat now though. He's insane or something." Faith stopped suddenly scanning the area around her. "Do you feel that?"

Paige stopped too and opened up her senses, feeling her surroundings. Something was off. It was like hundreds of tiny little needles were pricking her in the back of the neck, causing her slayer senses to ring in alarm. "Something's wrong."

"Got that right."

Silently the girls began to walk forward into the swirling fog of the graveyard before them. Stone statues of angels loomed up before them, praying over the souls of the deceased. A soft cry could be heard from ahead, but the fog was too thick to see anything farther then two feet in front of you.

"Damn it." Faith muttered. She pulled her stake out from the back of her pocket and treaded lightly on the dewy grass, hoping Paige was not far behind her. It wasn't until they crouched behind one of the mausoleums that they saw it.

A young girl, no more then sixteen was pinned to one of the headstones by two vampires. Their fangs were bared, causing the girl to cry out in fear. Moving forward slightly the vampire went down to take the kill. It was at that very moment that Faith burst forward and jammed the stake through his undead heart.

Turning to Paige she grinned. "Welcome to Sunnydale."


	3. Chapter Two

_**Chapter Two**_

_**Second Calling **_

Faith slumped onto her bed, exhausted. She'd been in Sunnydale for about two days now, kicking vampire ass 24/7. There'd been only a one-day gap between when Buffy had died and she'd arrived in Sunnydale, and in that time, though Willow and Xander and the others tried, the town had sank even deeper into the darkness. The vampires had gotten more daring since word got out that two Slayers had died in one night. So, naturally, the presence of Faith wasn't all that threatening. At first.

Faith had quickly made a name for herself in the small Californian town, killing as many as fifteen vampires her during her first night out. Since then, vamps had been more cautious of her, though they still roamed the streets of Sunnydale without care. Faith was grateful for Paige's arrival. Two Slayers were better than one, and maybe now she could get some sleep, a luxury she hadn't been afforded in the last couple of days.

She snuggled into her soft pillow. One good thing could be said for living in Sunnydale: the accommodations. Joyce Summers had learned of her daughter's calling mere hours before the Slayer had gotten killed. She was grief-stricken when she'd received the news of Buffy's death and had never forgiven herself for giving Buffy such an ultimatum that night.

When Faith had arrived in town as the new Slayer on the block, Giles had given her an address: 1630 Revello Drive. She thought it was a motel or something. The feisty Slayer didn't expect it was an actual house. Joyce had taken her –and now Paige- in and given her room and board, three square meals, enrolled her in Sunnydale High, and treated her like her own.

All would be great in her life. Except for that one little nagging thought that creeped into her mind when she least expected it.

_The only reason you have these things –the house, the clothes, the food, the mother, the friends- is because of her. They lost her, and they think you can fill her shoes, fill the hole she left behind. None of this is yours. It's all someone else's. You're just taking over the life of a dead girl. None of this is yours_.

"Maybe I wasn't born with these things in life, but they're mine now," she whispered stubbornly. "I have a good life now and nothing is going to mess this up." Sighing satisfactorily, she closed her weary eyes and fell into deep slumber.

"Ahhhhhhh," Faith groaned, shutting off her alarm. She rolled over and squinted as violent red numbers spelled out the time. 5:30 AM. The one drag about Joyce was that she insisted Faith –who had dropped out in tenth grade- go to school everyday. Though Joyce always griped about getting a good education, she knew that it was Giles who really enforced this rule. Buffy had gone to Sunnydale High and had been first in line to act when things on the Hellmouth were getting screwy. It only made sense that she take up that mantle.

Faith considered sleeping in another hour. It would mean missing her one of her daily training sessions, however, and she knew Giles would have a fit. Besides, she wanted to see how Paige measured up to her. Faith had known of her possible calling for nearly a year. She'd trained everyday with her Watcher in case the she became the Chosen One. She was prepared. She had no idea if that was the case for Paige. Groaning again, she rolled out of bed and grabbed some clothes out of her closet. Maybe once Paige was trained up a bit more, she could catch a few more Zs.

"Oh, this is nice," she murmured. Faith had left the house before Joyce had even woken up, to get to the Sunnydale High Library on time. The sky was a gray overcast, and by the time she'd ran a block, warm Californian rain had begun to fall. Her dark hair was plastered to her head, and her tight black tank top and leather pants stuck to her like a second skin. No matter. The rain felt good, since she hadn't had the time to take a shower this morning. And it was nothing like the rain in Boston, which pierced through your clothes and chilled you to the bone.

Enjoying herself so much, the Slayer almost missed that prickling, warning sensation that always warned her of trouble. It came again, more insistent this time. And then she felt another emotion she thought she'd done away with: Fear. It shook her to the core and she stopped running, looking around wildly.

She was only a couple of blocks from Sunnydale High; she could see it in the distance. She made up her mind to sprint the last couple of blocks. Right now, all she had was a couple of stakes and a bottle of Holy Water in her knapsack. It wouldn't be enough. Giles had crossbows and maces and all kinds of fun things in the library.

_The library; get to the library_, she chanted in her mind. She ran around the school to the outside entrance to the library. Her heart began to pound a little slower as her hand closed upon the cool metal of the doorknob, and the horrible feeling in her stomach subsided. She was safe now. She'd get a nice big sword and come back out and hack whatever it was that had the audacity to scare her into little bitty pieces. She sighed, relieved and comforted at that thought, and turned the doorknob.

"Faith," a deep voice growled, and she whirled around, the heart-stopping terror coming back full-force, and then some. Faith stared into the demonic visage of Kakistos, the ancient vampire who had murdered her Watcher right in front of her, whom she had barely escaped from the first time in Boston. As if reading her mind, he growled. "Not this time," he promised, descending upon her. And for the first time, Faith the Vampire Slayer screamed in terror.

"G-man, what's the news?" Xander asked as he entered the library, his arm around Cordelia's waist. Willow and Oz followed closely behind in stony-faced silence.

"Xander, I've asked you time and again to desist with that ridiculous nickname."

"But it so suits you so very much."

"Giles, haven't you heard yet?" Willow asked anxiously, ignoring Xander.

"I- 'Heard'? Heard what?"

"We thought you'd know by now, seeing as the police are practically right outside the door." Cordelia pointed to the library exit that led into the school parking lot.

"Know _what_?" Giles asked, exasperated.

"Murder. This morning," Oz replied, somber.

"A student?"

"Seems so."

"It doesn't look like it was the work of a vampire," Willow spoke up. "Or at least, not a normal one. The blood was drained, but the body..." She trailed off, shuddering. Giles raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"Slice n' dice," Oz filled in.

"How do you lot know all this?"

"Cordy did her...thing," Xander scowled.

"So we thinkin' deranged vamp, then?" Oz looked from person to person.

"W-well, any ideas as to who it could be?" Giles asked, sitting down.

"Hmmm. Let's take a stab at this. Deranged vampire, lurking around the library... Gee, I wonder who that could possibly be."

"Angel, obviously," Cordelia piped up, casting a withering glance at her boyfriend.

"Cor, it's called 'sarcasm'-"

"I know what sarcasm is-"

"People!" Willow yelled. Xander and Cordelia immediately stopped arguing. They'd only seen her like this once, and Take-Charge Willow was Scary Willow.

"If it is Angel," Oz began, "I'm thinkin' Slayers are our best bet to get some answers."

"We just passed Paige in the hall; Joyce was getting her enrolled."

"I don't want that girl going," Giles said adamantly.

"She'll be with Faith," Xander assured. "The two of them can handle him." He still couldn't bear to say the name of the monster who had murdered his best friend.

"Where is Faith, anyway?" Cordelia asked, peering into the window of Giles' office.

"She was supposed to have come at six this morning. Bloody awful punctuality," Giles muttered, feeling as though a boulder had dropped in his stomach. Faith had been nothing but punctual for their training sessions and nightly patrols.

"No, no she did come," Willow replied, a slight edge of panic hidden in her voice. "We passed Joyce, and she t-told us to tell Faith th-that tonight was spaghetti night. Faith left at quarter to six this morning. Joyce said she left!"

"But Faith's not here." Realization dawned in their eyes as they looked up. Only Giles worried about how to break the news to Joyce.

"Go to Hell!" Samantha Black screamed. She felt rage bubbling up inside her, so different from the normal annoyance she felt towards David. He was her older brother's best friend since grade school and a constant thorn in her side. With him, it was always snide remarks and witty insults. She could barely tolerate him on normal occasions. But she'd had the unfortunate luck to have him as her math tutor.

"I'm already there!" He yelled back. "After all, I'm stuck with you, aren't I?!"

"You're not stuck with me! You can quit whenever you want! Oh yeah, you need this, don't you? Short a couple hours of community service to graduate, are we?!"

"At least I'm not failing remedial math!"

"A, it's _enriched _math, all right?! And B, I'm not failing! Bs aren't a failing mark!"

"Then why the Hell do you need a tutor?!"

"Because trigonometry's screwing with my mind and I want As!"

"Then why don't you shut that big mouth of yours and sit down and _listen _to me?! Maybe then you could fill that empty head up!" Samantha wasn't sure why his remark hurt her so much. They'd traded worse insults than this before. Once, her brother Sam had even had to go so far as to kick David out and send her to her room.

But Samantha was hurt. So she acted on instinct. She slapped him. Or at least, she tried to. Her hand reached out quickly, with an almost inhuman speed, but he caught her wrist a just before she hit him. He must've known she'd had enough and would try something like that.

"Mind letting me go?" Samantha asked casually. She looked into his eyes and not for the first time, she had to admit that David was cute.

_No, no, he's more than that_, she corrected herself, blushing slightly. David had always been handsome, with his dark hair and intense eyes, but she'd never seen him look like this. His eyes were flashing dangerously, and for once she couldn't predict his next move. She was tall for a sixteen-year-old girl, at five-foot-nine, but David was a year older and half a foot taller. He towered over her and she felt more on edge.

"David, let go of my hand or I'll make you let go," she said slowly, making sure he got the point.

"Okay, then," he whispered into her ear. "Make me." Her eyebrows shot up.

"What are you playing at?" Calm David was more unnerving than Yelling David. At least with him, she knew where she stood. And then there was that ridiculously arrogant, smug half-grin he always wore when he would do something that would especially piss her off. He looped an arm around her waist and pulled her so close to him that his aftershave was making her dizzy. He titled her chin up and kissed her softly at first.

_Oh. Okay. Unexpected? Yes, very much so. Bad? ...Not so much._

The kiss deepened and she slung an arm around his neck. He raked a hand through her waist-long dark hair and tickled her with his free hand. She giggled, her lips still fused to his. He laughed and tickled her some more, enjoying the sound of her laugh.

_Mmmm, make that 'not at all',_ she laughed internally. Her first kiss. With David, of all people. She was just really getting into it when her watch beeped for the hour. Reluctantly, she pulled away, leaving David puzzled.

"I – uh – dinner," she babbled, gathering up her books and stuffing them into her bag. "Dinner is what I eat – at dinner time." _God! See foot. Insert mouth. Look like a fool._ "So I have to go. To eat. Dinner." She backed out of the front door. David watched her, his arms folded across his chest, that stupid half-grin on his face. She blushed because she knew he was having fun seeing her like this.

"Tomorrow, Sammy," he reminded her, barely able to keep the elation he felt out of his voice. She waved a hand in reply, already closing the door. Samantha stared at the door for a few moments, then sprinted up the block. When she was sure she was out of earshot, she put a finger to her lips, then let out a loud squeal.

"Yes yes yes!" She laughed, barely aware of the rain that soaked her.

"Excuse me." She stopped her celebratory dance and looked up. A middle-aged man, around his forties, looked at her gravely.

"Can I help you?" She asked, feeling embarrassed.

"Samantha Hart?"

"Yeah," she replied without thinking. Then her common sense kicked in. "Um, I mean..." She fumbled to find a cover-up. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm Sammie Hart. Can I help you?" She asked again. David's house was exactly one block up that way. She could make it if she had to.

"I need you to come with me," the man said.

"Oh ho, I don't think so."

"You're needed."

"Buddy, the only place I'm needed is home. I'm late for dinner. Now, if you'll excuse me..." She tried to move past him, but he grabbed her hand.

"They need you in Sunnydale. ...Oh, I'm not foolish enough to think I could take you in a fight," he added, seeing the look on her face.

"Come again?" Samantha asked, feeling utterly confused. The man was twice her size, and he thought he couldn't take her?

"You were Chosen," he continued.

"Chosen for what?"

"To be the Slayer."


	4. Chapter 3

**_Chapter Three_**

_**Drops of Fear**_

Paige opened the double doors, leading outside into a small courtyard. Joyce, who was now her guardian, had just finished enrolling her to Sunnydale High school. While Paige had only been at this school for a total of two hours so far, her mind already felt like it was going to explode. Hence her going outside for a bit of fresh air.

She had yet to see Faith or the rest of the gang but once this morning. This morning when she had arrived, Faith hadn't even gotten to school yet. The small little pinpricks of pain that she felt when she heard that were soon dismissed, being chalked up to nerves of her first day of classes. Other then that, she had been to busy to check in with anyone.

Sometime earlier a young girl about her age had been found outside of the school. They had been trying to keep everything on the down low, not wanting the students to get upset, but news in high schools always travel fast. The principal was currently holding a grief counseling center in the gym, talking to the students to explain what had just happened. Since Paige had no idea who this girl was, or even her name, she thought it best to skip it and come outside for a little alone time. Something she desperately needed.

Her life had been nothing but hectic for the last couple day. All it had been was training, settling into her new home, training, training.... Oh yeah, and training. She had only been out on one patrol so far though. The night with Faith was her first patrol and the way it looked, was going to be her last for awhile. Giles wanted to ease her into things, not push her to fast. When she had tried to tell him that it was okay, that this is what she was supposed to be doing for a living, he just gave her a stern lecture on how the Slayer isn't something you should take for granted. That just because you have super powers so to speak, it doesn't mean that you get to ignore the basics. To Paige, he was just being overly cautious, seeing how he had already lost one Slayer so early in her life.

Walking around the corner she took a sip from her water bottle. That was another one of Giles' rules. Always keep water with you so as not to get dehydrated. Paige and Faith just laughed when he told them this, thinking that it was some sort of a joke, but the look on his face had told them otherwise.

The sky was overcast and the smell of dew hung heavily in the air from the recent shower. Paige hated it when it was like this. There was always a sense of foreboding that came along with this type of weather. She always felt as if some higher power was trying to warn someone that the worst was yet to come. It was days like these that she was glad she was a slayer. Glad she knew how to fight for her life, even if it did mean that she'd have a handful of stupid rules to follow during it.

Leaning against the wall she closed her eyes in exhaustion. She hadn't been able to sleep last night due to weird dreams. They haunted her mind through most of the night, causing her to wake up in a cold sweat several times. She had heard Faith leave the house this morning, and had even contemplated getting up and going with her, but the sleepy ache in her bones prevented her from moving out of the soft confines of her bed. The dreams though still hung with her. Unfortunately she only vaguely remembered them and decided that she better not tell Giles about it. He had enough things to worry about at the moment. So she just pushed it aside, chalking it up to some bad food she ate the night before.

A squeak sounded in the distance causing Paige to open her eyes. A lone rat scurried out from behind the garbage cans, skittering away loudly. Paige frowned. There was something poking out from where the rat at just appeared from.

Walking forward she squinted her eyes to scrutinize what was in the dark up ahead of her. The color and texture looked as if it was soft human flesh. To her it almost looked like a hand of some sort.

"Some drunk probably." She muttered to herself. But as she got closer she saw the streaks of blood on the ground. Saw the crimson fluid splashed on the wall behind the body and the discarded stake to the right of it all.

"Oh god." Tears sprang forward as she ran to the body in front of her, her breath catching in her throat when she realized that the victim had long been dead.

Paige sat in one of the libraries chairs dumbly, her hands resting limply in her lap.

Faith was dead.

That thought alone kept swirling around in her mind, trying to process the information that no one wanted to hear. She had just met the girl and already her life was taken from her. Faith was smart. She was fast and had all the qualities that a slayer seemed to need, more qualities then Paige. But if she was already dead, after being on the Hellmouth for not even a month, then what was to happen to herself.

"You okay?" Willow kneeled down in front of Paige.

"Yeah." She whispered quietly. What else was she supposed to say? That she was scared? Not for others but for her life? Or was she supposed to say that finding Faith's dead and mangled body outside the school that morning was going to haunt her forever? Nothing seemed right. Nothing seemed to fit.

"Are you sure? You seem kind of quiet."

Paige just nodded her head slowly, still seeing Faith's cold blank eyes stare up at her from the ground.

"It's okay to talk Paige. This must be scary for you. It is for us too." Willow said gently, tears filling up her pretty eyes.

Paige got up from her seat, pushing Willow out of her way. Marching towards the door she pushed it open not wanting to talk to anyone at the moment. Outside the rain was pouring down on her. It only seemed appropriate at the moment for it to be gloomy. In the distance she could still see the lights from the police cars swirling around. Two girls were murdered on campus, and as stupid as the Sunnydale cops seemed to be, they couldn't let this one go.

Brushing her now damp hair out of her way she kept walking. Walking past the detectives, past the body bag with Faith's now broken and lifeless body inside, past the people who gave her suspicious glances. She had already been interview twice so far. Telling and retelling detectives what she found when she went outside to clear her head. Answering the questions that hey only ask to the people the suspect to be the culprits.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Slayers life expectances were short yes, but why? Why did they have to put their lives on the line for humanity day in and day out, and then die so suddenly? A month from now everyone would forget her. She was just another face in the crowd to most of the high schoolers. Would they do the same thing when she died too? It was only a matter of time right?

Paige shook her head almost violently, trying to get the racing thoughts to go away. In a matter of moments, reality had come crashing down on her, causing her to realize just how serious and dangerous her life had become. Before, she thought that the job of the Slayer would be fun and interesting. Leading a secret life, having a secret identity that only few knew about. She didn't have to worry about running into a vampire. It was just a fight. Truth be told though, her hand to hand combat skills had barley even been tested out. She didn't know if she was even any good at fighting. The only thing she had actually ever fought, besides the one vampire with Faith the other night, was her watcher during training. Those two things had a wide range of differences to them. Both being on the other end of the line.

Stomping heavily into a graveyard she looked around. She needed to kick some ass and she needed it now. Even though it was still day, the dark clouds above gave off enough light to shade the sun just enough for a vampire. Wiping out her stake she went into Slayer mode, opening up all her senses to the surrounding perimeter.

"What's a pretty little thing like you doing out on a day like this?" Someone drawled from behind her.

Paige rolled her eyes, _vampires, they're so predictable. _"Just walkin'" She said, playing dumbly along.

"Walking huh? Aren't you a little young? Shouldn't you be in school right about now?"

"Not today. It was canceled." She turned to face the vamp, he was tall and muscular with sandy blonde hair. Totally not Paige's type, but that wasn't even in the question right now. All she wanted was to use him, and then kill him.

"Canceled? Well, lucky you."

"Yeah, lucky me." She tried to hide the bitterness that wanted to sneak into her voice at his words.

"I'm Josh. You?" He said, coming towards her with an outstretched hand.

"Paige." She smiled girlishly. _That's right Josh, you keep on thinking I'm innocent._

"Paige. What a pretty name for such a pretty girl." He leaned down and kissed her hand. "So tell me Paige, how would you like to accompany me on this fine day of ours?"

"Where we goin'"

"Just for a walk. We could get to know each other a little better if you would like. I know I would."

"Why not." She said, looping her arm through his. She smiled broadly, it was only a matter of moments before she'd get to have her fun.

"Giles, this isn't good." Willow was typing on the computer frantically, searching for anything that could lead her to the cause of Faith's murder.

"Will's calm down okay?" Xander was trying to soothe his best friend.

"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down? Faith is dead Xander! Do you not realize that?"

"I know what happened Will, but it wasn't our fault."

"How do you know? We've lost two friends now. Two of them! We're going through slayers like you go through a bag of potato chips!" Tears started to fall down her face as she still tried to look through the wetness and onto the glowing screen

Xander immediately went forward and wrapped his arms around her, trying to soothe her sobs. Ever since Buffy died she had randomly been bursting into tears. The gang was used to this ongoing process by now. No one blamed her either. They had all lost something when Buffy died and a part of them even wished they could cry as Willow had done. Maybe then it would ease the grief a little. But Buffy was gone now, and the problem on their hands was bigger then their own needs. After this was all done and over Xander would make time for grieving, but right now he was needed in other ways.

"It'll be okay Willow. We're going to figure this out." He whispered softly.

Giles, who had been standing over on the sidelines finally spoke up. "We always find a way Willow. We just have to be patient."

"I don't want to be patient. I've been patient all my life and this is how I'm repaid. My best friend dies, then a new potential friend dies, _and_ Paige is a mess!" She sniffled a little and set her red eyes back onto the computer screen, determined to find a way to stop all this.

"Do we have any clues on who did Faith in?" Cordelia asked from her perch on the library table.

"I'm afraid not."

"But it's a vampire right?"

"It could be. But then again, it could be something entirely different."

"Well, whatever it is, we better figure this out soon before we're the next on the demons snack list."

"Thanks for you're concern Cor." Xander called over.

"Just stating what we're all thinking."

Paige dusted the specs of ash off of her coat. After leading Josh on for a good half an hour, and then having a heated make out session with him, she had finally killed him. Right in the middle of one of their kisses too, for that matter.

The fear was still there though. That nagging feeling that you're not safe, that you'll never be safe.

Sitting down on a cold bench she sighed, not knowing if being a Slayer was all it was cracked up to be. She had just traded in her life for superhuman strength, but at the same time she might have lost her humanity.

"Life sucks." She complained to herself, kicking dusty pebbles out of her way.

The rain started to fall again, slowly at first but after only a minute or two it began to pour. The heavens opened up and let the buckets of moisture fall to the ground. Starring up into the wetness Paige wondered when the next Slayer would arrive.


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four: Mistaken Identity**

"Slayer?" Samantha raised her eyebrows. "Come again?"

"'Into every generation, a Slayer is born'," the man began, giving the words a very learned-by-heart feel. "'One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with the strength and skills to hunt the vampires and'-"

"Hunt the _what_? I'm sorry, I must be going deaf, I thought I heard you say 'vampires'." The man paused slightly before answering.

"I did." Samantha widened her dark eyes, then laughed.

"Yeah. Right. Vampires are real, the tooth fairy is my next-door neighbor, and I'm the freakin' Easter Bunny." The sky darkened as ominous gray clouds rolled overhead, obscuring the light. The soft rain that was drizzling before fell harder and stung her with its icy coldness. She wanted to be inside, to be warm. Not to be out here telling this guy what a nutcase he was. "Listen, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you're a thundering loony. I'm outta here."

"You're making a mistake," the man said sadly.

"Whatever," Samantha called over her shoulder, waving her hand. It was late, it was dark and it was raining, and all Samantha wanted to do was get inside. She rubbed her bare arms and realized she'd left her jacket at David's house. Groaning with frustration, she contemplated on to whether or not she should go back to his house.

_He's got a car, he can give me a lift._ She turned around and jogged back up the road, not noticing the blurry shadow following her.

"Come on, David, where the Hell are you? Answer the door, I'm freakin' freezing out here," she muttered. "Come _on_! You were here fifteen minutes ago..."

"You all right there?" She turned around to see a guy on the sidewalk in front of David's house. She shivered inwardly. Something about this guy wasn't right. At least the other one was a harmless whack job. This guy was about three times her size, and she didn't like the hungry way he was staring at her.

_Please, David, where the Hell are you?!_ Her mind screamed.

"Just locked out," she smiled falsely. The smile slid off her face when she realized what she'd said. The man's leer broadened and Samantha felt scared. He came closer to her and though every fiber of her being told her to back up and run as fast as she could in the other direction, some tiny voice told her to stand her ground. So she did.

"So you're all alone, huh?" She squared her jaw and prepared herself. _For what?_ The thought instantly popped into her mind. _I should be running as fast as I can, not preparing to fight this guy. ...That's it. No more cookies for Sammy. _"Isn't that nifty?" For a moment, Samantha was taken aback.

"'Nifty'? Who _says_ that anymore? I mean seriously, not even my grandmother speaks like that." The main raised his eyebrows, surprised. "And while we're at this, you really wanna change that outfit. You look like a Backstreet Boys wannabe. Which isn't exactly the kind of image you wanna have in your mid-forties."

"Excuse me?"

"Hey, I call 'em like I see 'em." Whenever Samantha was nervous, she always had the tendency to ramble on. It made her look like a nut, but it calmed her down.

"Ms. Black." The younger man from before appeared around the corner, his expression grim. "If you still insist upon denying your destiny, then I suggest you get out of here."

"Huh? What? Why? Oh, lemme guess, it's 'cause he's a vampire, right?" Samantha scoffed. Then she stifled a scream. Mr. Boy-Band-Wannabe's face contorted into that of a monster. In the poor light, Samantha could barely make out the razor-sharp fangs that protruded from his mouth. With lightning speed, he moved around to stand behind her, and gripped her throat tightly, choking her.

"Smart, this one," he grinned, his yellow eyes flashing hungrily.

"Yeah, and you're an idiot." The vampire exploded into dust, and Samantha fell forward, gasping for air. She could hear footsteps running towards them and saw a round beam of light bouncing up and down.

"Ms. Evans! I told you to wait for me!" The newcomer scolded, panting slightly. Rain dripped off her navy slicker, and her blonde hair was soaking wet even with the hood she was wearing.

"If I did, the two of them would have been dead." Samantha got a good look at her savior. A girl around her own age towered above her. The girl looked to be just a few inches shy of six feet. She, too, wore a navy raincoat, but her hood was down, and Samantha could see dark eyes and friendly features that were currently set in a scowl. Her straight hair was matted to her scalp, and she held a stake in her right hand.

"We haven't even begun weapons training yet," the woman continued. "You snuck up on him; you got lucky. I don't expect this sort of behavior in the future, Anna."

"C'mon. You've gotta admit, Ms. French, that was pretty cool." Anna's lips curved into an expectant smile.

"Wha-what's going on here?" All three women turned to the man.

"Ah, Wesley! How good to see you," Holly French beamed. "It's been awhile, hasn't it? Anna, this is Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, a fellow colleague of mine from the Council. Wesley, this is Anna Evans, one of the current Vampire Slayers."

"What time is it?" Anna asked.

"One minute later than when you last asked me," her Watcher answered as they drove through the quiet Californian desert. A pause, then:

"How much longer?" Holly French sighed exasperatedly.

"You've been asking me these questions for the past half hour. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just...I feel it. The closer we get to Sunnydale, the more I feel it."

"Feel what?"

"All the darkness...it's scary. Has Sunnydale really gotten that out of control?"

"Since Faith died, the vampires don't really see the Slayer as a threat anymore. Paige Iverns is doing the best she can, with the aid of local civilians, but a second Slayer is greatly needed."

"I wonder..." Anna began hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"Well, I wonder if she would feel it. Samantha Black, I mean. She's a Potential Slayer, right? So I wonder if she would feel it."

"She might," Holly admitted. "You said she felt the instinct to stand against the vampire."

"But that's different. This feeling, it's a subtle thing. I mean, if I didn't know Sunnydale was atop a Hellmouth, I probably wouldn't pay much attention to it. It's like..." She struggled to give voice to her thoughts. "Like if I came into your room, and I, oh, I don't know, I took a pencil-"

"A pencil?"

"Yes, a pencil. You'd get the feeling that something was off, but you wouldn't know what."

"That's what you feel now?"

"Yep. Gotta tell you, I'm not lovin' it." Anna sighed wearily. "Ms. French, why did you wait?"

"Pardon?"

"Why did you wait? To bring me to Sunnydale, I mean. It's been a month since Faith died, and Paige Iverns came to Sunnydale like, the day after Buffy Summers died. Why did you wait?" Holly kept quiet for a moment, then answered, never taking her eyes off the road.

"Quentin Travers insisted I accompany you to Sunnydale the day I told you of your duties. ...Anna, though I've told you the concept of the Slayer line –one dies, another is called- understand this: though Slayers are important in the fight against evil, in the eyes of the Council, they are ultimately expendable.

"I wish you to know that I do not consider neither yourself nor Paige expendable. I do not agree with her Watcher's actions of sending her to best the demons of Sunnydale immediately after she was called, but she is now under the care of Rupert Giles, and he is one of, if not the, best. I waited so that I could prepare you as best I could for the things you will face in Sunnydale.

"If it were up to me, you would not be going at all. You would stay and slay in New York. If it were up to me, there would be no demons or devils, and Slayers would be just ordinary girls whose priorities would be set on boys and schoolwork. But, alas, it is not up to me. I am the Watcher, and my priorities lay in training you to combat the vampires and the demons who lay in wait.

"Have I answered your question?"

"Yeah, yeah, you have," Anna muttered. The rest of the drive into Sunnydale was one of silence.

"Angel." He kept his head down and continued walking. If he ignored her, she would go away. No, she wouldn't. He knew that. She would haunt him till he turned to dust. Because he'd killed her. He'd killed his Buffy.

"Go away," he murmured, his quiet voice obscured by the rustling of leaves.

"Angel..." Her voice came again, softly, taunting him. Then she appeared beside him. As always, he reached out. And as always, he grasped nothing.

"Why?" His voice came out a choked whisper.

"You know why," she replied matter-of-factly. "You killed me. So you have to pay." His eyes began to cloud over, his vision obscured by tears. "Oh God, stop being so pathetic. I mean _really_, Angel. You drank the blood of a Slayer. Did you think you'd get something so rare for nothing?"

"I-I didn't...mean..." He trailed off when he realized where he was. "Restfield Cemetery," he said, sounding the sanest he had in weeks. In a moment of clarity, he remembered that the Scoobies often patrolled this cemetery, since it was the one closest to the mansion.

"Hoping to see one of the gang?" Buffy's voice dripped with disdain. "Plead your case, tell them how innocent you are, that you didn't mean to kill me? God, I never realized how dismal you are with a soul. I guess it really was that whole 'creature of the night' thing that turned me on." Night after night, she taunted him endlessly, her cruel words fading only when the sun came up and he retreated into the darkness of the mansion for sleep. But that was when the nightmares came...

"God, Buffy, go!" He screamed, frustrated. "Leave me alone!" She smiled cruelly.

"Never," came her vicious reply. "You wanted us to be together. Well, we'll be together till your dying day. ...Oh Angel," she sobbed, her voice suddenly full of love and emotion. "Angel, you know I can't control this-this thing inside. You have to help me! Finish what you started!"

A month ago, she had come to him, telling him of a ritual that could dispel the evil within her, allow her to move on. It was his fault that she'd died, so he'd gone along with it; anything to give her peace. It had required blood, though. Human blood. But he hadn't cared. He would do anything that would give Buffy peace and happiness.

So he killed. On Buffy's instructions, he'd even gone after her friends, since their closeness with her would be more influential in the ritual. He'd almost killed Cordelia –her heartbeat was just a whisper- before Xander and the other arrived. Buffy urged him to finish her off, and he argued against her.

It was a moment before he realized that the Scoobies couldn't see Buffy. Since then, they'd thought him crazy, and he never again trusted his own perceptions of anything.

"K-kill Cordelia?" He choked out.

"No. No, not Cordy," Buffy shook her head. "She's suffered enough. No. ...Xander, instead."

"Xander?" He asked dully.

"Oh, come on. You never liked him, anyway." Buffy was beginning to sound less like herself and more like the evil thing she had become.

"No!" Angel screamed, desperately trying to attain a moment's peace.

"You never will," she whispered, as though she could read his mind. "You _can't_. Remember what happened last time? Angel, I'm doing this for _you_."

"Go away! Get the Hell away from me! Just _go_!" And he tore off into the night, trying desperately to put as much distance between him and that thing that passed itself off as Buffy as fast as he could.

"So, this is grand old Sunnydale? Well. The reputation of this town certainly precedes it." Holly French stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut.

"No vampires," Anna muttered. "Strange, 'cause that feeling is coming in stronger than ever."

"Have you seen it?" Holly asked, looking through her purse.

"Seen what?"

"The little slip of paper that I wrote down the address for Sunnydale High."

"What's at the high school?"

"Apparently, it's where Mr. Giles, Paige, and a few of the local teenagers converge to fight the forces of darkness. Coincidentally, it's also directly atop the Hellmouth."

"The kids in this town go to school over the Hellmouth? How ironic."

"Isn't it?" Holly answered, distracted. "Where _is_ it? Oh, excuse me! Oh, you there!" Anna turned to see her Watcher run towards a tall man, dressed all in black. His shoulders were hunched over, looking extremely depressed, and his dark hair looking ruffled, unruly. Though he was extremely good looking, an icy tingle crept down Anna's spine, and she shivered in fear.

"Could you perhaps point us in the direction of Sunnydale High?"

"Sunnydale High?" He sounded utterly lost and alone. "Why do you want to go there?" His eyes moved over Holly's shoulder to Anna, and his eyes flashed with recognition. In that moment, when he realized what she was, her fears were confirmed. But Ms. French was already so close to him.

"Ms. French," she called out warningly, running to her Watcher.

"Get back," a voice yelled, as several darkly clad figures came bounding through the trees, all carrying crosses and stakes. One girl, the one in front, had a crossbow pointed at them.

"Oh Lordy," Anna muttered, mentally prepping herself for a fight


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five- A Presence is Made**

Paige saw the scene in front of her folding out. Two women, one who looked about her age, stood in front of a vampire. Dark fear clenched her heart as she saw the dark haired man. There was something about him, something that Paige just couldn't quite touch. Even though the vamp had yet to even make a move on the two girls, Paige knew it was only a matter of time.

"Get back," she yelled to the woman who was closest to the vampire. Xander and Willow started running almost the instant Paige had. She could feel the fear of the two of them rise several notches. But since she didn't have time to go into it, she instead pointed her crossbow at all three of the people, not yet quite knowing if the two women could be trusted. After all, they were talking to a vampire.

A low mumble came from the youngest of the three. The girl quickly took up a fighting position, falling into it almost naturally.

"What's going on here?" The older woman asked of the three newcomers.

"Ms. French, get behind me." The other girl said.

Ms. French slowly moved behind her slayer, tossing the girl a confused look. "We were just asking for directions."

"From a vampire no doubt."

"Xander." Willow hissed while elbowing her friend. It was common knowledge that most residents of Sunnydale either chose to ignore the darker side of their town, or were too ignorant to even see it.

Ms. French looked a little taken aback. The man in front of her didn't look like a vampire; he didn't even act like one.

"Out for a midnight snack Angel?" Xander once again piped up.

"Angel?" Paige glanced back at the two teenagers behind her, the two that were slowly becoming her friends. "As in...?"

"As in the murdering fiend that killed our best friend." He replied slowly. Angel just looked down at the ground, not even attempting to defend himself against the harsh words.

Paige looked at him strangely. "So you're the reason why I'm here."

Anna looked back and fourth between the vampire and the girl that she now guessed had to be the other slayer. "This is all very nice and all, but shouldn't we be killing him now?"

Paige starred at Angel for a moment longer, then ticked her head towards the girl. "I'm guessing you're Anna."

"In the flesh."

Paige nodded, keeping one eye on Angel, who hadn't even attempted to make a move yet. This struck Paige as odd. Most vampires would be feeding her witty comments on how they were going to tear her to pieces, or they'd at least try to run for it if they were smart enough. But this one, he just stayed put, his hands shoved deeply in his pockets.

"Aren't you going to at least try and fight?" Paige directed towards the vampire. Xander, who was standing directly behind her, was starting to get a little impatient.

"Why should I?" His voice came back to her.

"Because you're evil."

"Xander will you shut up for just a moment please?" Paige snapped.

"This isn't a difficult situation here Paige. You have a crossbow in your hands, use it."

Paige ignored Xander's comment and continued to look at the vampire, trying to judge his next move. "No." She said slowly.

"What?" Every one of the surrounding people, including Angel questioned her action.

"You heard me. I said no."

Anna shrugged. "Fine, then let me." She pulled a stake out from her sleeve and started advancing towards the vampire.

Paige was set in action in a second flat. Grabbing Anna she pulled her around to face her. Looking into her sister slayers eyes she silently begged her to follow her lead. With much hesitation, Anna dropped her arm down, letting the stake hang loose at her side.

"I'd suggest you go now, before she changes her mind." Paige said.

Angel looked at her, scrutinizing her actions. He could tell that Xander's blood was boiling in rage at the slayers words. But he was just as confused as Xander was.

"Now's your chance." A voice whispered from behind him. Angel flinched as he heard her voice drift to his ears. "Xander's only a few feet away. Take him."

Angel shook his head.

"Yes. You know you want to. Do it. Set me free. Please." She begged him, tears filling her voice.

He put his hands over his ears, pressing hard, trying to drown out the haunting voice of his past love. "No." He whispered.

"Please Angel." Her voice started becoming more like her own, more like the Buffy he loved. The Buffy he killed. "Don't condemn me to eternal damnation. Please. Do it quickly, it'll all be over with soon."

He scrunched his eyes shut. "Angel?" Willow's voice called out to him. The one person that still seemed to see some good in his heart. She started walking towards him but Xander quickly pulled her away before she could go any further. Everyone stood stalk still, watching the vampire play out his inner struggle with what ever it was he was hearing. If only they could have seen the spirit of Buffy standing behind him, begging him to help her.

"Please," she begged, silver tears falling from her lashes. "Help me."

Angel looked up, his eyes becoming yellow. A brief thought of guilt passed Paige's mind right before he rushed Xander. Sending him to the ground.

"Xander!" Willow yelled, not quite sure of what she should do.

"Damn it." Paige muttered as she ran towards the two figures fighting on the ground. Anna was only a step behind her.

Quickly the two girls were on the vamp, trying to pull him off of Xander before he did more harm then he already had.

"No!" He yelled as he felt the hands on his jacket, yanking him away from what he needed to do. He knew this was wrong. Knew that he would regret this for the rest of his life. But it was Buffy. He would walk through fire for her, do anything for her, and if it meant that he had to kill again, then so be it. "I have to do this." He cried out.

The two slayers finally pulled him off of Xander and pinned him to a tree. Anna had a stake poised at his heart, ready to send it home and get rid of the reason why her and Paige were here. But right as the tip was about to penetrate the skin, she stopped. His eyes were flashing now to almost a deep amber color, the color of a severely pissed off demon. But she couldn't do it. She couldn't kill him. It was almost like there was a presence surrounding him, stopping her from completing her duty.

Quickly she let him go, watching as he bolted, disappearing into the darkness.

"Why didn't you kill him?" Xander yelled, holding a hand to his throat where deep bruises were starting to form. Despite that, and a couple of scratches, he was okay. "Hello, earth to slay girl. Why didn't you kill him?"

"I don't know." She whispered confused.

Paige had the same look on her face as Anna did. "I think we need to go to the library."

"Yes, we really should." Ms. French piped up, looking at Anna strangely. She had never once seen her hesitate before. Never had she froze and thought about what she was doing. Anna took her job very seriously, and to let a vampire go... that just didn't happen.

Tired, and dejectedly, the gang started heading to the library. Walking there in complete silence, not quite sure what they could say. Everyone just left the others to their own thoughts.

Angel sat in the corner of the graveyard, his head bowed to his knees, rocking back and fourth.

"You failed me." Buffy's voice came from above.

"I'm sorry." He said desperately.

"Don't be sorry. Just get it right next time. I can't bare to be hear any longer Angel. It's eating me up inside. You have to help me."

"I will. I promise you I will. I promise... I promise... I promise..." He muttered continuously.

"So you felt it too huh?" Paige said later that night. They were sitting alone behind the stacks together. For the past couple hours Giles had questioned the two of them on what exactly had happened out there, after all the introductions were made of course. Neither girl really spoke of it though, because in truth, they didn't know what had happened.

"The presence you mean?" Anna said quietly. They had just finally gotten away from the hated glares of disapproval of the rest of the gang.

"I don't know what it was. It just... I couldn't kill him. It felt as if I would be doing more harm then good if I did."

"He's a demon though. They're what we're supposed to kill."

"I know that. But..."

"Something stopped you." Anna stated, knowing exactly how the girl felt.

"Yeah. Something powerful."

The girls were quiet for a moment, not really knowing what they should say. They had only just met each other a few hours ago and already they had felt some sort of connection. Connection's with each other and with the things surrounding them.

"Do you think we should tell Mr. Giles?" Anna broke the silence after a moment.

"I don't know. Maybe not right away. Maybe we should wait and see if we can figure this out ourselves."

"Yeah, I mean, for all we know, it could just be the pull of the Hellmouth that's making us get the weird feelings. Right?"

"Yeah... that's probably it." Both girls didn't sound to reassuring to each other though. But it was something they were going to have to take at the moment. How else were they supposed to explain everything? "Maybe we should go home and get some sleep. I mean, we do have school tomorrow."

"It's not fair. We're the chosen ones; you would think that we would at least get out of high school for all that we do." They both stood up and started to walk towards the libraries exits.

"What can I say? Life's a bitch." They both laughed slightly and continued on.

"Girls?" Giles called from his office. Xander and Willow had already headed home for the night. "Can we talk to you?"

"Sure." Paige said shrugging as she walked into the office. Ms. French sat in the desk chair, sipping some tea, as Giles leaned against the wall.

"Have a seat." He said, motioning to the couch in the corner. They both sat down and looked at their watchers expectantly.

"Due to recent... circumstances, Ms French and I believe that we should up your training."

"Giles, we didn't get hurt tonight. Stop worrying."

Ms French looked at the two of them. "The fact of the matter is girls, that two slayers have recently died. The vampires out there are feeling untouchable at the moment, giving you two more problems then you'll probably be able to deal with."

"We're slayers, we can deal just fine." Anna said.

"Yes, we know you're quite capable of protecting yourself, but still, we'd both feel better if we'd up your training a little bit more."

"Giles, I can hardly handle the two hours of training, patrolling, plus all my school work as it is! How are we supposed to cope with even more training on our hands?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way Paige."

"Look, training isn't going to even help us in a real situation. First hand experience is what's going to help us in a real fight."

"Girls, our decision is final." Ms. French said. "Now, I expect the both of you here after school tomorrow to start. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes Ma'am." Both of the teenagers mumbled.

"Good, now go home and get some rest. You're going to need it."

Anna and Paige stood up and walked outside. "This is stupid." Paige complained.

"Right there with ya."

They walked about thirty feet when Paige stopped and threw her arms up in the air. "I'm too keyed up for sleep. Do you wanna go kill something?"

Anna smiled. "I'm game.


End file.
